<p>The state government has discharged six of the 11 known people in the state who have been infected with the new variant of the novel coronavirus.</p>.<p>Among them are a 34-year-old woman (also known as Passenger 2,294) and her six-year-old child discharged from the Trauma and Emergency Care Centre at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Centre (BMCRI) on Saturday. The other four cases have been identified in Shivamogga, including a 40-year-old man, a woman in her 30s and two children.</p>.<p>Dr Smitha Segu, Nodal Officer, BMCRI, said the 34-year-old patient and daughter had been discharged on Saturday and are currently in home isolation for 14 days.</p>.<p>In Shivamogga, meantime, Dr Rajesh Suragihalli, District Health Officer (DHO), said the four people who have been described as being from the same family, were also discharged over the weekend after testing negative twice for the disease.</p>.<p>BMCRI doctors and Dr Suragihalli described that all of the patients had been completely asymptomatic.</p>.<p>“None of them had any symptoms to speak of and they were subject to a standard regimen of zinc and Vitamin C tablets. In fact, their treatment did not deviate in the least from patients suffering the older variant of the virus,” explained Dr K Ravi, Head, General Medicine, BMCRI.</p>.<p>Azithromycin was also administered on occasion because we did not know when their viral load would flare up, added Dr Suragihalli.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Mental agony </strong></p>.<p>Doctors in both locations acknowledged that the primary problem was not a physical manifestation of the diseases such as fever or breathlessness, but mental turmoil over stigma from the disease and other factors.</p>.<p>Dr Smitha explained that patients at BMCRI’s Trauma Care Centre had difficulty adjusting with being in a government hospital.</p>.<p>“There was discontent over the food being supplied to them. These were eventually sorted out,” Dr Smitha said.</p>.<p>Another official of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, which has been providing mental health support to Covid-19 sufferers, said many had expressed concern over stigma.</p>.<p>“Most of them are anxious about their course of illness, guilty about having spread the same to their kith and kin. They are also worried about the stigma and discrimination. To a large extent, counselling helped them deal with all these issues,” the official said.</p>.<p>BMCRI has two additional UK viruses pending discharge, including the 38-year-old husband of Passenger 2,294, and a 50-year-old individual, both of who are asymptomatic.</p>.<p>Another individual is at Apollo Hospital on Bannerghatta Road. This patient’s status is unknown. Apollo refused to comment on the case.</p>
<p>The state government has discharged six of the 11 known people in the state who have been infected with the new variant of the novel coronavirus.</p>.<p>Among them are a 34-year-old woman (also known as Passenger 2,294) and her six-year-old child discharged from the Trauma and Emergency Care Centre at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Centre (BMCRI) on Saturday. The other four cases have been identified in Shivamogga, including a 40-year-old man, a woman in her 30s and two children.</p>.<p>Dr Smitha Segu, Nodal Officer, BMCRI, said the 34-year-old patient and daughter had been discharged on Saturday and are currently in home isolation for 14 days.</p>.<p>In Shivamogga, meantime, Dr Rajesh Suragihalli, District Health Officer (DHO), said the four people who have been described as being from the same family, were also discharged over the weekend after testing negative twice for the disease.</p>.<p>BMCRI doctors and Dr Suragihalli described that all of the patients had been completely asymptomatic.</p>.<p>“None of them had any symptoms to speak of and they were subject to a standard regimen of zinc and Vitamin C tablets. In fact, their treatment did not deviate in the least from patients suffering the older variant of the virus,” explained Dr K Ravi, Head, General Medicine, BMCRI.</p>.<p>Azithromycin was also administered on occasion because we did not know when their viral load would flare up, added Dr Suragihalli.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Mental agony </strong></p>.<p>Doctors in both locations acknowledged that the primary problem was not a physical manifestation of the diseases such as fever or breathlessness, but mental turmoil over stigma from the disease and other factors.</p>.<p>Dr Smitha explained that patients at BMCRI’s Trauma Care Centre had difficulty adjusting with being in a government hospital.</p>.<p>“There was discontent over the food being supplied to them. These were eventually sorted out,” Dr Smitha said.</p>.<p>Another official of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, which has been providing mental health support to Covid-19 sufferers, said many had expressed concern over stigma.</p>.<p>“Most of them are anxious about their course of illness, guilty about having spread the same to their kith and kin. They are also worried about the stigma and discrimination. To a large extent, counselling helped them deal with all these issues,” the official said.</p>.<p>BMCRI has two additional UK viruses pending discharge, including the 38-year-old husband of Passenger 2,294, and a 50-year-old individual, both of who are asymptomatic.</p>.<p>Another individual is at Apollo Hospital on Bannerghatta Road. This patient’s status is unknown. Apollo refused to comment on the case.</p>
